Abstract

Blue-winged teal are exposed to a wide array of habitat types during migration. The consequence of which is exposure to helminth species that may or may not be found on the breeding grounds. To learn more about the relationships between hosts, habitats, and helminths, we examined helminth communities of blue-winged teal collected from brackish and freshwater habitats. Thirty blue-winged teal were collected from each of the two habitat types. Blue-winged teal carcasses were placed on ice, viscera were fast-frozen in the field, and both were stored in freezers. At necropsy, helminths were removed, identified, and counted. In blue-winged teal collected from brackish habitats, prevalence of trematodes, cestodes, nematodes, and acanthocephalans was 100, 100, 100, and 23%, respectively; whereas in hosts collected from freshwater habitats, prevalence was 100, 90, 100, and 43%, respectively. At least one species, Psilochasmus sp., only occurred in birds collected from brackish habitats; whereas Echinostoma sp. occurred only in hosts collected from freshwater habitats. Trichobilharzia sp. occurred in all hosts examined. This study will aid in understanding how host habitat selection affects helminth communities in blue-winged teal.